DEATH “Spiritual Healing” /LP/

The sixth re-release of the third full-length studio album by legendary American Death Metal band.
"Spiritual Healing" is nothing short of genre-defining, which marked a new turn in the Death discography, one which ushered in cleaner production, a new level of boundary pushing musicianship and songwriting skills that were previously unimaginable from a Metal band.
Released on February 16, 1990 by Combat Records, it's the band's only album to feature both guitarist James Murphy and bassist Terry Butler, and the last to feature drummer Bill Andrews. The album was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida and was produced by Scott Burns. This was the final Death album cover painted by Ed Repka.
 "Spiritual Healing" sets the standard for riffs, insane time changes and of course mainman Chuck Schuldiner’s masterful guitar solos. The album marked a shift in style and content for the band, lyrically focusing on social evils and musically being more technical, as opposed to the gore-centered, straightforward Death Metal of their previous two albums. Due to this shift, the album received polarizing reception upon release.
This period was controversial for Death, as Butler and Andrews toured Europe without Schuldiner (who refused to do the tour on the basis that it had been badly organized), with vocalist Louis Carrisalez and guitarist Walter Traschler in his place. In response, Schuldiner pursued legal action, while firing them and shifting towards employing guest musicians on future releases.
Butler and Murphy, along with Gus Rios and Matt Harvey, featured at The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida on December 11, 2021, playing all of "Spiritual Healing" and "commemorating" 20 years since Schuldiner's death.
It's really only in comparison to history-making achievement, their "great leap forward" 1991's seminal "Human" album and Schuldiner's subsequent masterpieces, that "Spiritual Healing" is justifiably diminished, because in every other sense it's a hell of an album that reflects what was probably Death's most crucial transition phase, to boot.
Metal Hammer called "Spiritual Healing" one of the best Heavy Metal releases of the 1990s.
Perseverance Holdings Ltd./Relapse Records, 1990/2014/2023 (RR7194 | LP7194R / RLP7671941). Made in the USA. Pressed in Czech.


Tracklist:

Side A
1. Living Monstrosity 5:06
2. Altering The Future 5:33
3. Defensive Personalities 4:42
4. Within The Mind 5:33

Side B
5. Spiritual Healing 7:43
6. Low Life 5:21
7. Genetic Reconstruction 4:50
8. Killing Spree 4:13

Total playing time: 43:01 min.


https://death.bandcamp.com/